The Annihilation of the Sons of Wily
by Yarrunmace
Summary: A simple novelization of Mega Man II, namely the boss scenes. Prompted by my discovery of the Get Equipped album by The Megas. Characterization of the Robot Masters borrows significantly from there.
1. Air Man

Air Man:

Mega Man panted as he finished his climb to the top of the Air Zone. Before him, the familiar blast door stood ominously. As the door shuddered open, the constant howling of the wind grew more frantic, as if it could sense his presence. It only took a few steps for the door to slide shut again.

It was disheartening, at best. At least, when it was his brethren that he was fighting against, he knew that they weren't working under their own will. Once Wily's control was broken, they became harmless and allowed Light to repair them. This time, his opponents were as devoted as their master was. The upcoming battle can only end in destruction.

Steeling himself, Mega Man slid open the final door separating him from his opponent. As the door slid open, the voice of the wind rose to a fierce crescendo. Mega Man walked into a hollowed-out air-hanger. Debris and plane wreckage lined the edges of the room, some embedded into the walls. On the far side of the hanger, near the open hanger door, he could see a figure silhouetted against the blue sky. It glanced over its shoulder, casually, and began to speak.

"I see you have finally arrived." Though the wind was harsh, Air Man's voice could be clearly heard. He turned around, revealing his inhuman face. Mega Man stepped back in surprise. "I didn't expect you to come to me first. When I heard you found your way up here, I thought it was a joke. I almost appreciate the thought." Air Man began walking closer, the winds growing fiercer with every step.

"You are a curiosity, do you know that? Not just to me, but to my brothers as well. Wily has told us all about you, how you defeated him, how you'll turn our weapons against us, how you are a bigger threat than anything we'll ever face. And yet…" Air Man crossed his arms over his chest, amplifying the power of the propellers. Megaman struggled to stand.

"He did not tell us who you are. He did not tell us why you fight." Air Man gestured to the floor. "Below us are a people who simply crawl over the earth like insects. Consuming, producing, with no greater purpose than their continued existence and petty interests. Art, poetry, dancing…it's all rather silly, isn't it? Tell me, why do you fight for them?"

"I fight because they need me!" Air Man snorted; the blast nearly knocked Mega Man off his feet.

"Do you think the world would have collapsed if you had just stayed a boy, working in your father's lab?" Mega Man struggled towards Air Man, teeth gritted.

"Innocent people would have died!" Air Man shook his head in confusion, sending the room into tumult. Mega Man was tossed into a wall.

"Why do you prefer them over your own kind? They are weak and easily distracted. We are infallible and focused. Wily rebuilt his fortress in two years with the remains of his robot armies. Are your cities even _finished_ rebuilding?" Air Man's propeller began to roar. "No matter! Once I defeat you, Wily will be free to destroy your puny cities! I shall be the angel of death, raining fire down from the heavens! Face me if you will!" Mega Man climbed to his feet as Air Man began his assault.

The wind suddenly grew silent as Air Man fell to the ground. The propeller was slowing; soon, it would be stopped. Mega Man activated his communicator as he examined the scars from the recent fight.

"Father, it's me. Air Man's down. Ready for transport in 3, 2…" A heavy thud broke his concentration. Mega Man readied his Mega Buster as Air Man climbed to his knees.

"Do not bother" said Air Man. "My power systems are fried. I can barely stand." Air Man trembled as he refused to drop to the ground. "All my hopes, all my dreams, vanishing into thin air." With that, Air Man collapsed.

"…do you know why I hate you, Mega Man?" he wheezed. Mega Man, out of a mix of curiosity and pity, leaned in. "The first words I heard from my father was 'his appearance will deter attackers; it doesn't matter if it's frightening'. Frightening, that was the exact word. Do you understand what it was like, to grow up with the power to project wind, the power to push others away? It's a power that only brings enemies. It cannot help people. It cannot make them like you." The propeller screeched to a stop as Air Man's eyes began to dim. "I envy your existence, Mega Man. You don't deserve it."


	2. Crash Man

Crash Man:

Mega Man looked down from the top of the Crash Zone, the blast door behind him. Below him, the labyrinth of machinery continued to churn; above him, the night sky flickered calmly. The robots that had faced him, no longer sensing his presence, returned to their primary task: constructing parts for Wily's Robot Army. For a moment, Mega Man saw the Crash Zone as a functioning organism, the synchronization of individual parts for the good of the whole. The zone seemed infinite, and he felt very small.

A familiar beep drew him from his thoughts. "Message from Dr. Light" scrolled in front of his eyes. He reluctantly activated the communicator.

"The scanners are showing that you've stopped in front of the final room. Is something wrong?" Dr. Light's booming baritone rang in Mega Man's head.

"I'm just thinking things over, Father. That's all." Mega Man turned to face the blast door. As always, it rolled up with a screech as he pulled on it. "Wily has a decent set-up here. Nice and organized. All the robots know exactly how to work."

"Yes, but none of them have a choice in the matter, do they?" Mega Man paused. The antechamber was quiet. None of the racing wind from last time, just the whirring of machinery.

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Mega Man heard something that he couldn't distinguish. It sounded like a swear word but felt like a sigh.

"Mega Man, you were created for domestic services. You're here because you chose to fight Wily and I gave you the tools to do so. If you don't want to fight anymore, then we'll adjust. Humans have always fought off tyranny. But at this point, you're our best shot. Recreating your technology for human usage would take time, time that we don't have." Mega Man heard Dr. Light take a deep breath. "You are my creation, Rockman. I programmed you with the ability to think and learn, and I've taught you everything I know about what is good. I'm proud of you, as proud as I'd be of my child, and I believe that, whatever you do, it'll be the right choice. Light out."

Mega Man slowly opened the final door. The last room was dominated by the glass window that took up the left wall. Andromeda and Orion looked through the glass as Mega Man stepped under the fluorescent lights. The floor and walls were covered with the intertwined tubes that covered the facility. All in all, except for the scorch marks on the walls, it looked like any other room in the zone. Even the Robot Master was nowhere to be found.

"Well, you took your sweet time, kid" a voice called from behind him. Mega Man whirled around, blaster ready. Crash Man was leaning on the wall, next to the door. "Once we heard about Air Man, we all knew that I'd be the next one to kick the bucket. Have to say, I didn't expect you to take a whole week."

"I…I don't want to kill you" said Mega Man, his blaster still aimed at the Master. "This doesn't have to end this way. Come with me. Don't…don't make me do this!"

Crash Man smiled and shook his head. He began pacing back and forth across the room, arms behind him, head bowed. Mega Man watched him closely.

"Now look at you! A good boy, bright'n'fresh, wanting to take the peaceful way out. 'Let's be friends so I don't have to beat you up'." Crash Man struck a pose, his drills whirring to life. "Tough luck, kid. As much as I'd like to join you, I think we know how this has to end." Mega Man lowered his blaster.

"You want to join me?" Crash Man raised his head and looked at Mega Man. The smile stayed on his face, unmoving.

"Mind you, I don't care much for your humans. I just want to shove a bomb in Wily's face and see how he likes it." Crash Man frowned as a beeping sound filled the room. "…you'll want duck right about….now." Crash Man raised his arm and fired a bomb. Mega Man ducked, and the bomb flew over his head. The explosion knocked him off his feet.

"Sorry about that, kid. The programming's starting to kick in." Mega Man climbed back to his feet, his head ringing. He glared at Crash Man, who had resumed pacing. Crash Man shrugged. "It's Wily's treason protocol. It activates whenever I veer from protocol. You see, I should have started this fight the moment I saw you, so the protocol's making sure I don't weasel out of it. Oh, and you should roll to the left in three…two…one…now!" Mega Man rolled out of the explosion radius. He staggered to his feet, holding his head in his hands.

"Just because you're programmed to fight doesn't mean that you have to!" He could barely hear himself over the rattling in his head and the whir of the drills. "Let me take you to Dr. Light. If anyone can help you—"

"Kid, did nobody ever tell you that no means no?" His bomb launcher reloaded as he raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Look, I am what I am, and what I am is a Robot Master. I don't necessarily _like_ being a robot master, but it's what I was made for. If I let your doctor poke around in my noggin, then I'll stop being me. Either I die right here, right now, or you take me to the doctor's lab and kill me there. Don't take it personally." The drills whirred faster and faster. Mega Man could feel his head splitting. "It's just that I want to die with my drills on."

…

"Father, it's me. Heavy damage to the electronics, but Crash Man's down." Mega Man slowly slid down the wall he was using for support. He hit the ground with a dull clank.

"Excellent, Mega Man. I was worried for a moment; you were taking so long to respond. Ready for transport?"

"Not yet. There's something in Crash Man's chassis that I want to look at. I'll call you back in a moment. Mega Man out." Mega Man sighed and looked at Crash Man. Most of the chassis was gone, blasted away by the Air Shooter. Only his head and torso remained intact.

"There, I guess we can talk for now. You're sure that the protocol won't cause any more trouble?" Crash Man smiled.

"Well, the protocol only controlled the limbs. Nothing for it to do now but sit and stew." He paused for a moment "Do you really think that excuse will hold him?"

"Yeah. He probably doesn't believe it, but Father trusts me to do the right thing." Mega Man staggered to his feet and walked towards Crash Man.

"Lucky you. Hey, do you mind putting me next to the window?"

"Sure, no problem." Mega Man grabbed Crash Man by what was left of his arms. He placed him next to the window, which had miraculously lasted through the fight. After a moment, he sat down next to him.

"It's a beautiful view, ain't it? It's one of the few things that I got to decide about the place. Wily insisted on designing my zone himself, but he forgot to change the treason protocol. So I sneaked it in when he wasn't paying attention. Got it with reinforced plastic and everything. Heh, sometimes I don't know whether I like it because of the view or because it's _mine_." Crash Man smiled, an odd sight on a limbless robot.

"Back when I was in the testing stage, Wily told us about fireworks. Can' t remember why; he always goes off on tangents when he talks to us. So, I stole a bunch of bombs from the development labs and launched them into the sky. BOOM!" Crash Man laughed, and Mega Man snickered. "Yeah, that was the stunt that got me stuck with the treason protocol. Now that I think about it, I think I put that window in to remind Wily that I'm not his damn lapdog. Damn fool thinks he can make sentient robots and keep them from talking back." Crash Man shook his head. "Heh, but I'm drawing this out for too long. You have work to do, don'cha?"

Mega Man nodded and rose to his feet. He readied the Mega Blaster and aimed it at Crash Man's head. Tears appeared in his eyes, and he struggled to keep the blaster on him.

"It's a good thing that you're doing, kid. I'd shake your hand if I had a hand to shake. It's…"

"It's been a pleasure to fight you."


End file.
